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^^i  1  6  1971 
FEB  1  S  1972 

I 
I 

Ob   2  3  1972 

Form  No.    1683 


»^UN  2  5  1973 


oc- 


Vl 


WHY  THE  CHIMES  RANG 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/whychimesrangOalde 


TOYTHECtllMES 
RANG 

RAYMOND  MACDONALD  ALDEN 


HAVO  DUNtStR 


INDIANAPOLIS 

Ttie  DOB&S'MERRILL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1909 
The  Bobbs- Merrill  Company 


PRESS  OF 

BRAUNWORTH  &  CO. 

BOOKBINDERS   AND  PRINTERS 

BROOKLYN,   N.  Y. 


rtW  .  A.  1 


V  V  •/♦   -^  A:  5  *' ^'^^  /fc^\tuii  ^/,  ^ 


-""  ■  -••    ^^^°«r*  I 


WHY  THE  CHIMES  RANG 


3 


^^--\ 


once,  in  a  far- 
away country 
where  few  people 

have  ever  traveled,   a 

wonderful  church.     It 

stood  on  a  high  hill  in  the  midst 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

^ ^^ —    of  a  great 

city;  and 
every  Sun- 
d  a  y ,     as 
;^S-^    '"  well  as  on 

sacred  days  like  Christmas,  thou- 
sands of  people  climbed  the  hill  to 
its  great  archways,  looking  like 
lines  of  ants  all  moving  in  the 
same  direction.  . 

"WTien  you  came  to  the  building 
itself,  you  found  stone  columns 
and  dark  passages,  and  a  grand 
entrance  leading  to  the  main 
room  of  the  church«     This  room 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

was  so  long  that  one  standing  at 
the  doorway  could  scarcely  see  to 
the  other  end,  where  the  choir 
1^  stood  by  the  marble  altar.  In  the 
farthest  corner  was  the  organ; 
and  this  organ  was  so  loud,  that 
sometimes  when  it  played,  the 
people  for  miles  around  would 
close  their  shutters  and  prepare 
for  a  great  thunderstorm.     Alto- 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

gether,  no  such  church  as  this 
was  ever  seen  before,  especial- 
ly when  it  v/as  lighted  up 
for   some    festival,    and 
crowded  with  people, 
young  and  old.     But  the 
strangest  thing  about  the 
v/hoie  building  was  the 
wonderful  chime  of  bells. 
At  one  corner  of  the 
church  was  a  great  gray 
tower,  with  ivy  growing 
over  it  as  far  up  as  one 
could  see.     I  say  as 
far  as  one   could  see, 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RAN(i 

because  the  tower  was  quite  great 
enough  to  fit  the  great  church, 
and  it  rose  so  far  into  the  sky  that 
it  was  only  in  very  fair  weather 
that  any  one  claimed  to  be  able  to 
see  the  top.  Even  f  hen  one  could 
not  be  certain  that  it  was  in  sight. 
Up,  and  up,  and  up  climbed  the 
stones  and  the  ivy;  and,  as  the 
men   who  built  the   church  had 


been  dead  for  hundreds  of  years, 
every  one  had  forgotten  how  high 
the  tower  was  supposed  to  be. 

Now  all  the  people  knew  that  at 
the  top  of  the  tower  was  a  chime 
of  Christmas  bells.  They  had 
hung  there  ever  since  the  church 
had  been  built,  and  were  the  most 
beautiful  bells  in  the  world.    Some 


.^ -,    '^< 


» « » 


thought  it  was  because  a  great 
musician  had  cast  them  and 
arranged  them  in  their  place; 
others  said  it  was  because  of  the 
great  height,  which  reached  up 
where  the  air  was  clearest  and 
purest:  however  that  might  be, 
no  one  who  had  ever  heard  the 
chimes  denied  that  they  were  the 


sweetest  in  the 
v/orld.  Some 
described  them 
as   sounding 


Jft-'i 


m 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

like  angels  fLi  up 
in  the  sky;  others,     f^' 
as    sounding    like 
strange  winds  sing- 
ing through  the^'"^^ 
trees. 

But  the  fact  was 
that  no  one  had 
heard  them  for 
years  and  years. 
There  was  an  old 
man  living  not  far 
from  the  church, 
who  said  that  his 
mother  had   spoken 


of  hearing  them  when  she  was  a 
little  girl,  and  he  was  the  only- 
one  who  was  sure  of  as  much  as 
that.  They  were  Christmas 
chimes,  you  see,  and  were  not 
meant  to  be  played  by  men  or  on 
common  days.  It  was  the  custom 
on  Christmas  Eve  for  all  the 
people  to  bring  to  the.  church  their 
offerings  to  the  Christ-child;  and 
when  the  greatest  and  best  offer- 


ing  was  laid  on  the  altar,  there 
used  to  come  sounding  through 
the  music  of  the  choir  the  Christ- 
mas chimes  far  up  in  the  tower. 
Some,  said  that  the  wind  rang 
them,  and  others  that  they  were 
so  high  that  the  angels  could  set 
them  swinging.  But  for  many 
long  years  they  had  never  been 
heard.  It  was  said  that  people 
had  been  growing  less  careful  of 


their  gifts  fori; 
the  Christ-child, ' 
and  that  no  offer 
ing  was  brought, 
great  enough  t# 
deserve  the  music 

of  the  chimes. 
Every  Christmas 

Eve  the  rich  people 


i^OSfiS 


still  crowded 
to  the  altar, 
each  one  try- 
ing to  bring 
some  better 
gift  than 
any  other, 
without  giving 
anything   that 


M 


^ii>^ 


«^-. 


ii 


t 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

he  wanted  for  himself,  and  the 
church  was  crowded  with  those 
who  thought  that  perhaps  the  won- 
derful bells  might  be  heard  again.  , 
But  although  the  service  was 


splendid,  and  the  offerings  plenty, 
only  the  roar  of  the  wind  could  be 
heard,  far  up  in  the  stone  tower. 
Now,  a  number  of  miles  from 
the  city,  in  a  little  country  village, 
where  nothing  could  be  seen  of 
the  great  church  but  glimpses  of 


V^ 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

the  tower  when  the  weather  was 
fine,  lived  a  boy  named  Pedro, 
and  his  little  brother.  They  knew 
very  little  about  the  Christmas 
chimes,  but  they  had  heard  of  the 


^m^m 


service  in  the  church  on  Christ- 
mas Eve,  and  had  a  secret  plan, 
v/hich  they  had  often  talked  over 
when  by  themselves,  to  go  to  see 
the  beautiful  celebration. 

''Nobody  can  guess.    Little 
Brother,"  Pedro   would  say,  ''all 


/\ 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

the     fine 
things  there 
are   to   see    i 
and   hear; 


i 


and  I  have  even 


/v. 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

heard  it  said  that  the  Christ -child 
sometimes  comes  down  to  bless 
the  service.    What  if  we  could  see 
^   Him? 

The  day  before  Christmas  was 
bitterly  cold,  with  a  few  lonely 
snowflakes  flying  in  the  air,  and  a 
hard  white  crust  on  the  ground. 
Sure  enough, 
Pedro  and 
Little  Brother 
were  able  to 
slip  quietly 
away  early  in 
the     after- 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

noon;  and  although  the  walking 
was  hard  in  the  frosty  air,  before 
nightfall  they  had  trudged  so  far, 
hand    in ..  hand,  that  they 


saw    the 
city  just 


lights  of  the  big 
ahead  of  '<:hem. 
I  Indeed,  they 


I 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

were  about  to  enter  one  of  the 
great  gates  in  the  wall  that  sur- 
rounded it,  when  they  saw  some- 
thing dark  on  ^^^  the  snow 
near  their  HI  path,  and 
stepped  aside 
at  i^ 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 


It  was  a  poor 

H^sms 

woman,  who  had 

H^^^^Hj 

fallen   just    out- 

^^MB U^fU^'i'r^j^^^^^^KtM 

side  the  city,  too 

^^H|  flfHH|^^^^^*^^^^« 

sick  and  tired  to 

get  in  where  she 

might  have  found  shelter.  Tne  soft 
snow  made  of  a  drift  a  sort  of 
pillow  for  her,  and  she  would  soon 
be  so  sound  asleep,  in  the  wintry 
air,  that  no  one  could  ever  waken 
her  again.  All  this  Pedro  saw  in  a 
moment,  and  he  knelt  down  beside 
her  and  tried  to  rouse  her,  even 
tugging  at  her  arm  a  little,   as 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 


though  he  would  have  tried  to 
carry  her  away.  He  turned  her 
face  toward  him,  so  that  he  could 
rub  some  of  the  snow  on  it,  and 
when  he  had  looked  at  her  silent- 
ly a  moment  he  stood  up  again,,, 
and  said : 

''It's  no  use,  Little  Brother. 
You  will  have  to  go  on  alone.'' 


Alone?''  cried  Little  Brother.^ 
''And  you  not  see  the  Christmas 
festival?'' 

''No,"  said  Pedro,  and  he  could 
not  keep  back  a  bit  of  a  choking 
sound  in  his  throat.  "See  this 
poor  woman.  Her  face  looks  like 
the  Madonna  in  the  chapel 
window,  and  she  will  freeze  to 
death  if  nobody  cares  for  her. 
Every  one  has  gone  to  the  church 


now,  but  when  yon  come  back  you 
can  bring  some  one  to  help  her.  I 
will  rub  her  to  keep  her  from  freez- 
ing, and  perhaps  get  her  to  eat 
the  bun  that  is  left  in  my  pocket." 

''But  I  can  not  bear  to  leave 
you,  and  go  on  alone,''  said  Littie 
Brother. 

''Both  of  us  need  not  miss  the 
service,''  said  Pedro,  "and  it  had 
better  be  I  than  you.    You  can 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 


easily  find  your  way 
to  the  church;  and 
you  must  see  and 
hear  everything 
twice,  Little  Brother— once  for 
you  and  once  for  me.  I  am  sure 
the  Christ -child  must  know  how  I 
should  love  to  come  with  you  and 
worship  Him ;  and  oh !  if  you  get 
a  chance,  Little  Brother,  to  slip  up 
to  the  altar  without  getting  in  any 
one's  way,  take  this 
little  silver  piece  of 
mine,  and  lay  it 
down  for  my  offer- 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 


ing,  when  no  one  is 
looking.  Do  not  for- 
get where  you  have 
left  me,  and  forgive 
me  for  not  going  with  you/^ 
In  this  way  he  hurried  Little 
Brother  off  to  the  city,  and 
winked  hard  to  keep  back  the 
tears,  as  he  heard  the  crunching 
footsteps  sounding  farther  and 
farther  away  in  the  twilight.  It 
was  pretty  hard  to 
lose  the  music  and 
splendor  of  the 
Christmas  celebra- 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

tion  that  he  had  been  planning  for 
so  long,  and  spend  the  time 
instead  in  that  lonely  place  in  the 
snow. 

The  great 
church  was  a 
wonderful  place 
that  night.  Every 
one  said  that  it 
had  never  looked  so  bright  and 
^^beautiful  before.  "When  the 
""  organ  played  and  the  thousands 
of  people  sang,  the  walls  shook 
with  the  sound,  and  little  Pedro, 
away  outside  the  city  wall,   felt 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

;  the  earth  tremble    around   him. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  came 

i  the  procession  with  the  offerings 

to  be  laid  on  the 
altar.  Rich  men 
and  great  men 
marched  proudly 
up  to  lay  down 
their  gifts  to  the 
Christ-child.  Some  brought 
wonderful  jewels,  some  baskets 
of  gold  so  heavy  that  they  could 
scarcely  carry  them  down  the 
aisle.  A  great  writer  laid  down 
a  book  that  he  had  been  making 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 


Zs#  "•< 


••I 


for  years  and  years. 
And  last  of  all 
walked  the  king  of 
the  country,  hoping 
with  all  the  rest  to 
win  for  himself  the 
chime  of  the  Christ- 
mas bells.  There 
went  a  great  mur- 
mur through  the 
church,  as  the  people 
saw  the  king  take 
from  his  head  the 
royal  crown,  all 
set   with   precious 


WHY    THE    CHIM 

stones,  and  lay  it 
gleaming  on  the 
altar,  as  his  offer- 
ing to  the  holy 
Child.  ^'Surely/' 
every  one  said,  'Ve 
shall  hear  the  bells 
now,  for  nothing 
like  this  has  ever 
happened  before." 

But  still  only  the 
cold  old  wind  was 
heard  in  the  tower, 
and  the  people  shook 
their  heads;  and 


ES    RANG 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

some  of  them  said,  as  they  had 
before,  that  they  never  really 
believed  the  story  of  the  chimes, 
and  doubted  if  they  ever  rang 
at  all. 

The  procession  was  over^  and 
the    choir   began    the   closing 


Sudden- 
1  y  t  h  e 
organist 
stopped 
p  1  a  y- 
ing  as 
though 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

he  had  been  shot, 
and  every  one 
looked  at  the  old 
minister,  who  was 
standing  by  the 
altar,  holding  up  his 
hand  for  silence. 
Not  a  sound  could 
be  heard  from  any 
one  in  the  church,  but  as  all 
the  people  strained  their  ears  to 
listen,  there  came  softly,  but 
distinctly,  swinging  through 
the  air,  the  sound  of  the  chimes 
in  the  tower.    So  far  away,  and 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

yet  so  clear  the 
music  seemed — so 
much  sweeter  were 
the  notes  than  any- 
thing that  had  been 
heard  before,  rising 
and  falling  away  up 
there  in  the  sky, 
that  the  people  in 
the  church  sat  for  a  moment  as 
still  as  though  something  held 
each  of  them  by  the  shoulders. 
Then  they  all  stood  up  together 
and  stared  straight  at  the  altar, 
to   see  what    great    gift    had 


WHY   THE   CHIMES    RANG 

awakened  the  long- 
silent  bells. 

But  all  that  the 
nearest  of  them 
saw  was  the 
childish  figure  of 
Little  Brother, 
who  had  crept  soft- 


WHY   THE    CHIMES    RANG 

ly  down  the 
aisle  when  no 
one  was  look- 
ing, and  had 
laid  Pedro's 
little  piece  of 
silver  on  the 
altar. 


»n..^r 


e- 


